Hap McSween, earth and planetary sciences professor, spoke to NPR about NASA’s Mars Curiosity mission’s latest discovery. An analysis of a rock sample collected by NASA’s Curiosity rover shows ancient Mars could have supported living microbes by revealing some key ingredients for life.

Michele Ballard, an eighth-grade teacher at Seymour Middle School in Sevier County, is this year’s winner of the Marian E. Oates Teacher Enrichment Award from UT Knoxville. The award, which includes a scholarship for professional development, will allow Ballard to spend the summer collaborating with Professor Mike McKinney, director of environmental studies in UT’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.